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I 

SPEECH 



OF 



HON. LEWIS F. LINN 



OF MISSOURI, 



ON HIS AMENDMENT TO THE LAND DISTRIBUTION BILL, 



PROPOSING TO 



APPROPRIATE THE REVENUE FROM THE PUBLIC LANDS 



TO 



,^ 



THE NATIONAL DEFENCES 



IN SENATE, AUGUST 11, 1841. ''p' -^Z 



WASHINGTON : 

PRINTED AT THE GLOBE OFFICE. 
^ 1842. 






SPEECH 



Mr. LINN, on rising, referred to the notice he 
had given, some days since, that he had an imper- 
tant amendmeat to offer to the bill under conside- 
ration, and would seize the opportunity now af- 
forded to propose it for the decision of the Senate. 
He asked the Secretary to read from his table the 
amendment, which he did, as follows: 

"Strike out all of the first nine sections of the bill, which re- 
late to distribution, and insert: 'That, from and after the pass- 
ing of this act, the nett proceeds of the sales of the public lands, 
80 far as the same shall not be needed to delray the expenses or 
to pay the debts of the General Government, shall be, and the 
same are hereby, pledged to the cjmnion defence of the Union, 
and shall be faithfully applied to that object, fronj lime to time, 
according to the plans of defence which Congress shall adopt, 
until the United States are placed in that state of security which 
is due to the honor and independence of the country, and to the 
protection of the rights and interests of its own citizens. And 
it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, at the 
commencement of each stated session of Congress, to report to 
each Hou-'eof Congress the amount of the nett proceeds of the 
public lands for the current year, and which were not required 
to defray the expenses or to pay the debts of the United States, 
and the amount so reported shall be, and the sime hereby is, 
appropriated to providing such means, and csnstructing such 
works of public defence, by land and wafer, as then may be in 
progress, or which Congress shall order and direct; and such 
appropriations shall continue until the defences of the Union 
shall be completed, andsha'l be in addition to the ordinary an- 
nual appropriations for such objects.' " 

Mr. LiNx said, that a high sense of puolic duty 
had induced him to pre ent thi? proposition, and 
would comp?l him to urge upon the Senate its 
adoption. He was free to confess he saw but lit- 
tle hope of succesi crowning his efforis; knowing, 
as he did, that the distribution of the proceeds ot 
the public lands was an old and favorite measure 
of the Senator frem K'rntucky [Mr. Clat] and of 
a large portion of the political party now in the 
ascendant in this and the oiher branch of the Na- 
tional Legislature. He was fully s nsible also, 
that the Senate was worn out by constant labor 
and confinement to the .heated and contaminated 
air of the Capitol during a summer session, and 
must feel indisposed to listen to arguments which 
it was predisposed to reject. But an imperious 
duty— ^a solenn tense of what was due to his con- 
stituents, and to the whole country, required of him 
some observations, which he would make wiih all 
the brevity the nature of the subject will permit. 

It was scarcely necesj^ary to call up ihe past his- 
tory of these United States, for the purpose of 
bringing to the recollection of those he addressed, 
the fact that our national independence was not 
achieved without an immense sacrifice of treasure 
and blood. It would be readily admitted, that 
much of that exp«ndiiure was caused, roainlv, by 
a want of power in the old Congress, under the 
Articles of Confederation, promptly to provide the 
means, in men and money, necessary for the prose- 
cution of the war vigorously, and providing for 
the comnDon defence and the numerous demands 
of the general welfare. The old ihirteen States 
were often near dissolution from the refusal of 
5ome to furnish, and the tardiness of others in fur- 1 
liahing their respective quotas, required for the I 



defence or salvation of the most exposed and ha- 
rassed members of the Union. 

If gentlemen would turn to the history of our 
glorious Revolution, and again read the eloquent 
and thrilling appeals ot the immortal Wash- 
ington, araicl the most pressing embarrassments 
from disasters and defeats, grov.ing out of 
the cause mentioned, during that period which 
tripd the souls of men, it would revive 
impressions, perhaps somewhat dimmed by 
lime, but which can never be effaced, and con- 
vince all of the necessity of makirg suita- 
ble preparations for the hour of trial and adversity. 
In the letters of this distinguished general, states- 
man and patriot, can be clearly traced the primary 
delect of the old Confederacy to which he now 
alluded; namely, the want of sufficient pov/er to 
et)force the means necessary for the common de- 
fence of all its members. His first message to the 
first Congress, under ourpre.sent Constitution, was 
a memorable evidence of the deep impres.sion this 
subject had made upon his mind. Having pre- 
mised these remarks, he should proceed at once to 
the consideration of the amendment; and at the 
very thre^old he would say, that he could not 
imagine any constitutional objection to it, for there 
could be none — it had that merit, at kast, which 
could not be said for the original bill. 

It was impossible that eentlemen, as well in- 
lormed on questions of constitutional power as 
those whom he addressed, could entertain a doubt 
as to the entire control of Congress over the na- 
tional domain' as a source of means for national 
defence. That such application of the public 
lands is the fiist duty of Congress, would be the 
principal ground, for the present, on which he 
would place his objections to the passage of 
the di-tribuiion portion of the measure, leav- 
ing it to others to dispute its passage as 
being opposed to the letter and spirit of the 
Constitution. It was the necessity for the ex- 
istence of a controlling and enforcing power, for 
the purpose indicated by his moiion, that finally 
led to the adoption of our present Constitution; 
and it stands, accordingly, among the reasons int 
the preamble, which says: 

"We, the people of the United States, in order to form 2. 
more perfect Union, establish justice, ensure domestic traa- 
quillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general 
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves aD(J 
out posterity, do ordain and eitablish this Constitution for 
the United States of America." 

President Washington, on taking the chair of 
state, did not forget the trials he had undergone 
as Commander-in-Chief of our armies, or the use- 
less sacrifices often made by the country. In his 
first, and in all his messages to Congresss, he calls 
Its attention to the defences, but dwells particular- 
ly on it in his Farewell Address — an emanation of 
human wisdom and exalted patriotism, which 
every American should commit to memory, andl 
engrave its wise and salutary maxims on his heart. 



He says, in his message of December 3, 1793: 

"I cannot recommend to your notice measures for the fulfil- 
mentof our duties to thereat of the world, without again press- 
ing upon you the necessity of placing ourselves in a condition 
of complete defence, and of exacting frovi them the fulfilment 
of their duties towards us. The United States ought not to 
indulge a persuasion, that contrary to the order of 
human events, they will forever keep at a distance 
those painful appeals to arms with which the 
history of every nation abounds. There is a rank 
due to the United States, among nations, which will be 
withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of ?cea^«ess 
If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repei il; if we 
desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments 
of our rising prosperity, it must be known that ve are, at all 
times, ready fur rear. The documents which will be pre- 
sented to you, will show the amount and kinds of arms and 
military stores now in our magazines and arsenals; and yet an 
addition even to these supplies cannot, with prudence, beneg- 
Jected, as v\e should leave nothing to the iincerlainty I'f pio 
curing of warlike apparatus in the. 'iiwment of public dan- 
ger. 

"Nor can such arrangements, with such objects, be exposed 
to the censure orjealousy of the warmest friends of Republican 
Covernment. They are incapable of abuse in the hands of 
the militia, who ought to possess a pride in being the deposi- 
tory of the force of the Republic, and may be trained to a de- 
gree of energy equal to every military exigency of the United 
States. But it is an inquiry which cannot be too solemnly pur- 
sued, whether the act 'more effectually to provide for the na- 
tional defence, by establishing a uniform militia throughout the 
IJnited States,' has organized them so as to produce their full 
effect; whether your own experience in the several States has 
not detected some imperfection in the scheme: and whether a 
material feature, in the improvement of it, ought not to be, to 
afford an opportunity for the study of those branches of the 
jnilitary art which can scarcely ever be attained by practice 
alone?" 

Again, in his Farewell Address, or testameni lo 
his beloved constituents, he says: 

"As a very important source of strength and security, che- 
rish public credit. One method of preserving it, is to use it as 
sparingly as possible, avoniins. occasion of expense by culti- 
vating peaie; but remember also, that timely disbursement 
to prepare for danger, frequently prevents much greater 
disbursements to repel il; avoiding likewise the accumulatioi, 
of debts, not only by shunning occasion of expense, but by 
vigorous exertions in time of peace, to discharge the debts 
■wliich unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungene- 
rously throwing upon'posterity the burden which ourselves 
ought to bear. Theexecution of these maxima belongs toyour 
Representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should 
cooperate." , 

These two addresses were peculiarly applicable 
as arguments, he thought, in favor cf his cm'^nd- 
ment. He (Mr. L) could not, afterreading them, 
allow the occasion to pass without appealing to 
every Senator, and asking Ihem whether, in the 
present juncture of our foreign affairs, and taking 
iato full view all our relations with Great Britain, 
he can account himself justified to his conscience 
and country in voting to pass this measure in the 
form presented to tlie Senate by the chairman of 
the Committee on Public Lends, [Mr. Smith,] or 
fnd it possible to vote against his (Mr. L.'s) pro- 
position, to devote the money arising from the sales 
of our public domain to the defences of ihe coun- 
try by land and water. He would ask the friends 
of this Distribution bill — have you ever examined 
carefully into all the causes now operating, to disturb 
the peace of the country? Have you reviewed ihce 
cau.'!es, and marshalled them before your judgment 
for the purpose of estimating the probable duralion 
of our peaceful relations with the English Govern- 
ment'? Sir, the elements cf discord are, unfortu- 
nately, serious in character, and annually increase 
in number. They are — 

1st. Northeast boundary line of Maine, involv- 
ing the jurisdiction of a sovereign State of the 
"Union. 

Hi. Title to the territory of Oregoa: its posses- 



sion by the United States of great importance to the 
valley of the Mississippi and to American com- 
merce in the Pacific ocean. 

3d. Exerci?e of British influence over Indian 
tribes living within the Slates and territories of the 
United Slates, which influence is maintained by 
the distributien of arms, amm'tiuiiion, presents of 
various kinds, and regular pensions to chiefs and 
head men, with serious injury te the American 
traders in time of peace, and resulting in scenes of 
blood and horror revolting to humani'y in time of 
war. 

4th. Seizure of American merchant ships on the 
ccast of Africa, accrmpanitd by insults to the 
crews of some, to the plunder of other-j, and of great 
loss to the ownsrs in all the cases. 

5th. Invasion of the territory of the United 
States, the murder of peaceful citizen?, and burn- 
ing their property — as in ibe C.iroline affair. 

6ih. Case of McLeod, growing out of this very 
tranfaction, and thrtaiening immediate hostilities. 

7th. Refusal of ihe English Government lo pay 
for, or surrender to their owners [our citizens] a 
number of slaves, east by stress of weather or by 
shipwreck on ihe Bermuda or Bshatna islands. 

By the treaty of '83, the boundaries of our North- 
eastern States were considered as settled with great 
precision — yet the war of 1812 showed that these 
were to become a fruitful source of contention, 
when it suits thegra'sping love of dominion which 
Great Britain has never tailed to display. It was 
not the paltry value of a few hundred thousacd 
acres of barren land that excited her cupidity, 
or awakened her desire to be possessed of the 
territory in dispute; but she eliscovered, during 
the war of 1812. that a portion ot Maine [ihen 
Massachusetts] was indispensably necessary to a 
direct communication between her colonies of 
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and her Ca» 
oadian provinces during ihe winter months, when 
the river and Gulf of St. Lawrence were bound up 
in icy fetters. In order to tran.^port troops and 
munitions of war during the inclement season, 
from Halifax to the Canadas, she coveted and laid 
claim to our ioW — making her necessity the rule of 
right. That it was so, you hid only to look at the 
fact:; of Ihe case — even English authority could be 
prcduced in abundance, but at present he would 
only quote the November No. ot the Edinburgh 
Review of 1814. The able writer of ihe article 
headed "War with America," was intimately ac- 
quainted with all the causes that led to the quarrel 
between the two nations, viz: impressment of our 
seamen, the seizure and confiscaiion, under British 
orders in council, of American merchant ships en- 
gaged in lawful commerce on the ocean, the high- 
way of naiiont, &c. &c. After treating these grave 
maUcrs v/ith skill, he animadverts with just severi- 
ty upon Ihe change of tone of the Enslish authori- 
ties, and Ihe new elements introduced into the ne- 
gotiations at Ghent, by the British envoys, after the 
downtall of Bonaparte, such as the free navigation 
of Ihe Mississippi, independence of certain Indian 
tribes within tlie jurisdiction of the United States, 
surrender of. territory, etc. and ihat, too, in re- 
ference to a conference, to which we were invited 
by the English Governmeaf. The writer says, 
page 250 : 



"At the time when this proposal was made, it certainly will 
not be pretended that we had any view to an increase 
of terrilory, or to any other thing than the adjust- 
ment of those questions as to neutral and mariiinie 
rights, which /armed the whole original subject of 
conleiitiun ; and as liltle can it be doubled that 
peace would have been instiinlly and joyfully accept- 
ed, had America been then disposed to wiltulraw her pre- 
tensions upon the points of search a?id impressment, or to 
leave (hose and ihe other relative fjuestions as to (he law o( 
blockade, to aiukable and deliberate discussion. The §(eat 
doubt and difficulty was, whether America would abandon any 
part of her pretensions, and whether we would consent to such 
modifications of our practice, as to lay a ground fur iminediaie 
pacification. Before the commissioners met, however, all 
these difficulties seemed to be providentially removed; fur peace 
was restored to Europe, and with the slate of belligerant, va 
Dished all the griev.uices and all the preiei;sions of ilie neutral. 
As there was no longer to be any impressment at all, it became 
quite unnecessary to settle under V7hat limitations impress- 
ments should take place out ot the trailing ships ofanr'utral; 
and as all blockade, and prosi)ecl of bhjckade, was abandoned, 
it was equally idle to define the condi'.ions on wliicii it should 
be enforced against third parties. It could scarcely be pre- 
tended, and cou id never for a moment be seriously believed in 
any quarter, that it could be of any u.se to settle these general 
questions, with a prospective view to future cases of war and 
neutrality, which all the world knew would make rules or ex- 
ceptions suited to their own emergencies; and, at all evenis, it 
was obvious that such a settlement upon abstract |iri;iciples 
would be gone ab ut with much better hope of success \n deli- 
berate consultations, to be entered into after the cessation of 
hostilities, thar. by the ruder logic of force. It was confidently 
anticipated, therefoie, that Ainer.ca would consent to the 
waiver of all her neutral pretensions, and tliat the war 
would die a natural death upon the removal of all the ob- 
jects and causes by which it had been excited. This 
anticipation, it appears, wa.s fully realized on the part of Ame- 
rica, who instructed her conmiissionersto allow all ihese points 
to lie over, and to let the secondary and relative hostilities, 
which had arisen out of the wars in Europe, cease with the 
wars which had occasioned them; and we are now at war, be- 
cause England will not agree to that proposal, but insists upon 
gaining certain advantages by the war, which she had not in 
centemjildlion when she herself first suggested the negotia- 
tion, and which, to all ordinary observers, she seems to have 
but a feeble prospect of obtaining by force. 

"What these advantages are, it is not necessary very rainijte- 
Jy to explain. They amount, in one word, to a demand fr a 
cession of territory; and the war which is now going on is 
neither more nor less than a war for the conquest of that terri- 
tory. \iy the treaty of wS3, the boundaky line bbtween the 
United Si.ites and Canada was settled with the utmost preci- 
sion; and fir the greater part it was made to run through the 
centre of the great chain of lakes, and thi ir connecting waters, 
with a joint right of navigation to both parties. The territory 
of certain Indian tribes, who are now dignified with the name 
of our allies, is within the country then solemnly ceded to Ame- 
rica, in so far as England had any jiower to cede it, in the same 
way as the territory occupied by many other Indian tribes was 
included in the country then finally ceded to England. We now 
insist on the exclusive military occupaiionofall those waters, on 
a guarantee for the perpetual inviolability and independence of 
the territory of our Indian allies— a»d ore the unqualified and 
absolute cession, teithont compensation, nf part of the Stale \ 
of the State of Massachusetts, [n<iw Maine.] in order to esia- j 
blish a more convenient communication beliceen ITalifax 
and our settlement of New Brunswick — besides some smaller | 
matters; and we refuse to make peace unless terms are com- 1 
plied with. ■ I 

"On the justice of Ihe pretension— on the fairness of our ' 
causa belli — we have scarcely a word to say, after we have! 
again repeated that it is untlcnlably, and almost professedly, 
a war of conquest upon our part. The territory we now in- 
sist upon takins from America, JO«.s solemnly ceded and se-\ 
cured tohei by the treaty of 1783, ichen we knew, or ought to 
Itave known, r;s well as we do ?ww, what was necessary J or 
ike security of the 2>rovinces retained." 

History may be silent or fail to cootiemn, or diplo- 
macy may glo.^sover lhe.se an ogant demands, made 
at the tni.nent of her g'eatcst siien;;th — '.vhf n her 
armies, rti.ishfd wiih success from ihe oi/t rthrow- 
of the Emutror Napoleon, hereto be precipitated 
on our s^liores to carry death and desuuciion in 
their coHrse. But the people of the United Slalv.<, 
if true to themselves, will not soon forget ilie^e 
movements. What Great Britain then failed lo 
extort from our weakness or fears, she has feince 



obtained, by military possession, and by spinDing- 
the thread of negociation to an almost intermi- 
nable length. He (Mr. L.) would ask the Se- 
nator from Maine, [iVIr. Evans,] whethsr the 
que.=tion of ihess Biiiish claims lo the terri- 
toritoiy within the Nonheastcrn boundary line 
of his S'aie, is any neater, or, indeed, so 
near, being settled this day, as it was in 
1783. Was there not, twenty-five years ago, a 
more rational prospect of adjustment than there is 
at preseni? He would ask (hat Senator if, in his 
opinion, it would be propt-r for Congress to recede 
fiom ihe pledge which had been given to ihe Siate 
of Maine? oi, if Maine v^ouid recede from her 
own pledges — will she yield rp tamely? and with- 
out uiing every means that she possesses, for pro- 
tecting that portion of her territory coveried by 
Great Biitain? In addition to those qucsiions, he 
would also ask, if Great Briiain persists in the 
course she is now taihng, of locating her military 
forces within the borders of Maine ff r the evi- 
dent purpose of obtaining and maintaining posses- 
sion, will not Maine resort to force to expel intru- 
ders? and if she dees, how is awarwiih Great 
Britain to be avoided? 

[Mr. Evans said, that thus appealed to, he should 
say ia reply to the question, whether he thought 
Congress wr.nld recede fiom the pledges given to 
I^Jaine, his firm conviction was, that Congress 
nsver would retreat from these pledges. He could 
a so say, that it was equally his conviction, that 
IVIaine never would recede from her promises, or 
her duty to hersell and the General Government. 
If Maine had been inactive of late, it v7b» in con- 
sequence of (he las.t raes.sage from Mr. Van Burea 
having informed CoBgress that there was every 
prospect of an amicable adjustment of the dffi- 
cully between thii". Government and England, in re- 
laiion to the disputed territory. How the Isct was, 
he did not knov.?.] 

Mr. Linn said, of that fact it was not now ne- 
cessary to say any ihing; but the Senator's answer 
as to the pledges of the General Government to 
Maine, and these of Maine herself to the whole 
country, was sufricient for his (Mr. L's) present 
argument. The Senator believes that neither Con- 
gress nor the Stale of Maine will recede from 
resolves stilenmly made. What the h rd oi the 
laie Administration thought en ihe subject of an 
amicable adjustment, was not now the question; it 
was, wheiher ihera was a belter prospect of ad- 
justment now than there was twenty -five yeais 
ago. That it was not only not so good, but daily 
growing worse and worse, was the position which 
he (Mr. L ) maintp.ined. He would lake upon 
himself the responsibility of saying, in his place 
in the Senate, that this boundary question never 
was in a more hopeless condition; and he believed 
it never would, permanemly, be arranged, till 
Great Britain cilhcrgave independence to the Ca- 
nada.'.'t r was compelled, by the valor of Ameiican 
arms, to yield up her unju-it pretensions.* And whea 

'Mr. Fairfield, the Democratic candidate for Governor of 
Maine, makes the lollowing remarks en the boundary question, 
in reply to a letter a.^king his views on that subject: 

"In regard to our boundary question, patience is exhausted. 
The hope of an amicable adjustment is nearly extinguished. 
After years upon years of wailing, we seem to be as 
far from a restoration of our entire territory as we wera 



6 



or where has Great Britain ever giren away without 

compuisioni Has it not been the invariable policy 
of England to bold on — lo maintain her fooling, 
right or wrong, as long as she has a foot of ground 
to siand tjponi So long as sbe reiains h?r Cana- 
dian poi-.vessions she will never surrender her claim 
to the territory within omt boundary 1 re. Was 
not that disputed question a soutce of imminent 
danger? But that, great as it was, was not ihe 
onlyone of the kind. There is ano'her of the 
same naure in the Far West to be settled. He al- 
luded, ! e Faid. to the Territory of Oregon. 

As this Territory of Oregon had been the subject 
of protracted negotiation between the United Sia'es 
and Great Bri;ain, and would, probably, like the 
Maine controversy, lurnish material for much 
more, a brief notice of the grounds on which we 
we place our claim, seems to b=' required from the 
nature of the proposition under discussion. 

The country on the Pacific Ocean, extending 
from latitude 42 d(g. the boundary line between 
the Unitpd States and the Republic of Mexico, to 
latitude 54 deg, 40 min. Norib, is claimed by this 
Govern:;;enl and Great Britain; Spain ard Russia 
having formally, by treaties, renounced theirs 
Great Britain claims a modified jurisdiction, not 
an exclusiveone, fotmded upon the Nootka S. and 
conventirn with Spain. By ihe treaty of Paris, 
of 1803, the Uniied States acquired the noblest 
province in the world, without the cost of one drop 
of blood — the fairest pr ruon of the Valley of the 
Mississippi, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico 
lo the sources of the "Father of Waters," the 
Missouri river, the Rocky Mountain^?, and, by con- 
tiguity, the unexplored regions west of these 
mountain?. 

Mr. Linn said that this was not the proper 
time to enier, minutely, into a history of ail the 
treaties which related to thi.'? pait of the discussion; 
from that of Uirechi in 1704, to thjos? with Spain 
in 1819, with Mexico in 1824, and with Great 
Britain in 1818 and 3827. But if l.he United 
States rested its claim to the territory in dispute, 
upon priority of discovery alone, it would be as 
immuiable as the Rocky Mi-uniains, which over- 
look its lovely plams and valleys. In ibe ye.Tr 
1791, th- mouth rf the Co'umb-a river was fir- 1 
seen by Captain Grey of Boston, in commani of 
the fihip Columbia, sailing under tho flag of the 
United States. In the month of May, 1792, he 
entered the river; he save loit its name, and conti- 
nued to explore it from the l^t to the 7lh of the 
month. Having fixed its latitude, and distinctly 

atthe commencement. Our forbeaiance has but served to ex- 
cite the hopes and increase the arrogance of those who are 
contending with us. A mere diploiiiatic ruse, by lapse of 
time, has hecome a serious and and portentous affair. An of- 
fer to purchase, a quarter of a :enturyago, a similar sti-ip of 
land on our Monheastern border, anon ripened into a. claim of 
iiUe—a.n(\ from that day to this, ha^ been swelling and expajid- 
ing, until now, it covers one-llurd of the territory of a State, 
larger than all the rest of New England. A single mail ear- 
lier, wending his solitary way through the passes of 'the high- 
Sands,' is lollowed by small companies of poor peasants, ga- 
thering merely a subsislen?e by cutting and sending down the 
streams to a market, a few of the trees standingjuiion the mar- 
gin. The:,e are succeeded by formidable bands of plunderers, 
iindar the pay of wealthy and 'respectable' merchants, sweep- 
jngour forests, and accumulating fortunes by the spoils. And 
jast comes a foreign soldiery, who, undf-r the authority of 'her 
Majesty,' build forts and erect barrack.s, make permanent and 
military establishments, and claim to hold possession." 



marked the topography of the neighborhood, the 

bearines of the various headlands around the ba)', 
which lies wiihin the embouchure of the river, he 
returned to thi' United Sates and announced his 
important discovery. Thus was this great 

RIVER DISCOVERED BY THE UNITED STATES FROM 

THE SEA. Alter the splendid and peaceful acquisi- 
t'on of Lousiana in 1803, the philosophic mind of 
Mr. Jefferson was turned anxiously to lading open 
its hidden treasures, tracing to their sources its 
great riveis, and penetrating the regions of ihe un- 
known West, as far as the mouth I f ihe Colum- 
bia. According to his suggestion, an exploriag 
expedition was fitted out by the Govern- 
irent, to ascend the Missouri to its source, 
and penetrate, overlaid, to the mouih of 
the Oregon, which had been pcvioudy discovered 
by Grey. Every body knows the signs! success 
which crowned this admirably conduced enter- 
prise, which c-pened to the world ihe exiensive re- 
giors cf the Upper Missouri, the Rocky Mountains, 
and added togergrapby the magnificrnt Valley of 
Ihe Oregon. Ten years before thisevent, McKen- 
zie had penetrated to tbi= Western ocean; but his 
route did not toxicli any of (he waters oflhisgrmid basin, 
btii:g several r'egrees north of it. In 1805, Lewis 
and Clarke took for'.-al possession of the country, 
and pased the winter there, in a fr ri built by 
themselves, ovtr which floated the stars and stripes 
of their country. Jind thus, by both sea and land, 
does this discovery belong lo the United .States. This 
occupation by Lewis and Clarke was, beyond ques- 
tion, the first settlement made by civilized man on 
h-it river, and it is an important incident to our 
liile. It was notice to the world of our claim, 
and that solemn act of possession was fol- 
lijwed up by seitlem'-nt and occupation by that in- 
telligent and enierpris^ing merchant, John Jacob 
As'or, under enciur- gement from thi=; Government. 
Thus, it will be perceived that our title has all the 
rf quisite.^ prescribed by European powers making 
settlements on this continent, and by Grfat Britain 
among the number: 1st. That the discovery and 
occupaiion of the mouth of a river, gives itle to 
the region watered by it and its trinuiaries, as in 
the case of the Hudson, James river, &c 2d. That 
the disco /ery and setilement of a new country gives 
title ha' f way to the nearest settlement of a civilized 
power. Either of there principles would carry us 
beyocd the 49;h parallel of latitude, independent of 
any claims derived from France by the li&aty of 
Louisiana, or by the Florida treaty of 1819 ^Ax. 
Astor, from his long £.nd intimate acquaintance 
with the operati. ns of the Briti.'^h Nonhwest Com- 
pany, anti close connection in business with the 
English Macinaw Company, perceived, at an earlyj 
day, Ihe great political and commercial advantages) 
to be derived io himself and to his country, by eX' 
tendins his orerations in the fur trade to the waiers 
of the Missouri river, to the Rocky Monntams, andj 
to the country watered by the Columbia. H'' iherC' 
fore planned expeiUnnns, by land and wafer — 
doubled Cape Ho-n wih his ships, which e-itered 
ihp mouth of the Columbia in the month r.f April. 
1811 .^nd est.Tbli^hed a factory called "Astoria,' 
amid volleys of musketry and tbe roar ol artillery 
The overland expediiion, under the cmmand O! 
Wilson P. Hunt, ascended the Missouri riveii 



in boats to the Arickaree villages, from whence he 
took up his line of march across the great Western 
plains. After suffering the exireme limits of hun- 
ger and thirst and the attacks of savage beasts, and 
still more savag* men, he succeeded in forcing his 
way through snow and ice, over the stern barriers 
of the Rocky M)untains, and joined his country- 
men who bad already established themselves at 
the mou'.h of the Columbia. Notwithstandirjg the 
multiplied disasters which had befallen the expe- 
ditions by land md water in this perilous under- 
taking, Mr. AskDr's anticipations of success would 
have been more than realizd, but for the war of 
1812 The Northwest Company, jealous of the 
control this morement would give the Anaericans 
over the fur traile and over hundreds of thousands 
of Indians, despatched Mr. Thompson from one 
of their tradica posts, as a secret emissary, who 
reached the d rthern branch of the Columbia, 
which he deECfcnded to Astoria, which had been, 
months before, established. Tae Northwest Com- 
pany had, for years, been under the direction of 
clear sighted Siotchaien; and many of Mr. Astor's 
associates wee also natives of Scotland. The 
news of the declaration of vrar was brought to 
Astoria by a iietachment of the Northwest Com- 
pany, who, while Mr. Hunt was absent on busi- 
ness to the; Saadvich islands, entered into negotia- 
tions with Mi. Astor's Scotch friend?, which re- 
sulted in a transfer to the Northwest Company, of 
all Mr. Astoi's effects and possessions. Tnis had 
scarcely been completed, when the British sloop of 
war Racjoon appeared off the place, and compelled 
its surrender. The Northwest Company hoisted 
the British flag, which was replaced by the Ame- 
rican in October, 1818, under a stipulation of the 
treaty of Gient. This is the foundation of British 
possession. Their claim, by right of discovery, is 
not so R'rong as the one by possession, inasmuch 
as the Uniied States, by the treaty of 1818, con- 
sented f'^ a joint occupation, and to leave the 
title undecided. The Northwest Company prompt- 
ly improved the advantages acquired by accident 
or treachery, and by the improvidence of our 
rulers. For a long series of years a bitter rivalry had 
existed when the Hudson Bay Company, chartered 
by Charles the S-cond in 1670, and the NorlhT^est 
Company, which often led to bloodshed. This 
caused Parliament to pass an net which united the 
two into one, under the name of the Hudson Bay 
Company, and by another act, extended the crimi- 
nal law of Canada over the boundless region west 
of the oraanizpd States and Territories of this 
Union. The wisdom of those measures, soon be- 
came apparent. Prom that time the affairs of the 
company began to proyper; its stock rose from 
sixty per cent, below par to two hundred above 
par, and this mostly from an encroachment upon 
our Indisn trade and territory. This great corpo- 
ration, under the direction of the British Govern- 
ment, exercises almost ab.>olute .«;way over count- 
less tribes of savages, frrm the Atlantic Ocean and 
the great lakes on the east, to the Pacific Ocean on 
the west, from t'^e Polar regions on the north, 
to the confines of Mexico on the south. Over this 
vast area are dotted her forts and factories; she en- 
lists armies of soldiers, and calls them "employres," 
builds ships of war and names them "coasters;" 



establi»hes strongly fortified places, bristling with 
cannon, as at Vancouver, and nicknames them 
"Trading Posts," with many less impwrlant works 
east to the moun'ains and south to the borders of 
California. By exemption from the payment of 
any duties on her merchandise, through intrigues, 
her arts, and arms, the American hunter and trap- 
per have been driven by this poworful and well or- 
ganized company from any participation in the 
fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains, and hun- 
dreds have fallen victims, iu their gorges and 
passe?, to the rifle and tomshawk of the merciless 
Biackfeet under British influence. Within the last 
two years shepherds and farmers have been brought 
from England, by way of Ca.^e Horn, and lands 
allotted them as colonists; and within twelve 
months four hundred emigrants hav.' been trans- 
ferred from the frozen borders of the Red River of 
L'ike Wianepeg to the fi-rtile plains and mild cli- 
mate of the Valley of liie Columbia. From their 
large farms and extensive mills, the 'company" 
furnishes breadsuffs and provisi( ns to the Russian 
set iements of the North; timber to the Califor- 
nians and Sandwich is.'arids; and the richest furs 
and peltries to Ch'na and Europe; amounting in 
the aggregate to several millions of dollars in value 
per annum — thus realizing the brilliant anticipa- 
tiouo cf Mr. Astor. Understanding thoroughly the 
advantage they pos-ess, this lordly corporation now 
openly proclaims i's dr^'ermination never to aban- 
don the country north of Ihe Oregon until compelled 
by force pf arms. Mr. L. said he had in hi* poise.->- 
>ion much recent information, wh ch went to prove 
that the British Government was bent earnestly 
upon streng'hsning itself in the Pacifi:; ocean, by 
holding firmly in is grasp the Territi-ry of Oregon 
and the Sandwich islands, and if p'ssible acquire 
from Mexico the fine province cf Upper Califor- 
nia, with its capacious hnrbor of San Francisco. 
He would, from the mas?, select the following 
fiom a highly respectable source, wfcich went to 
show some of their doings on that quarter of the 
continent. 

"AFFAIRS IN OREGON. 

"Tlie author of ilie letter below is a citizen of Boston — at the 
present lime a resident at Honolulu, the chief town and mart 
of the Sandwich Islands, wliere he owns considerable shipping, 
and can it's on an pxif naive trade. 

"For several years he was engageJ in a profitable commerce 
on the shores of Oregon. Aboul the year IS33, he, with other 
American merchants, withdrew from the coast, their trade be- 
ing almost entirely brolcen up by the monopolising of the II. 
B. Compfiny. 

"Mr. P. is a true American; I have had much acquaintance 
with him. 1 saw and Icnew much of him while at the islands 
in IS.3.5. Others, with myself, cm bear honorable testimony 
to his worth — his public examples of generous and noble ac- 
tion. It is due Mr. Peirce and the country, tu spealc thus par- 
ticularly of his character — a knowledge of the facts in his let- 
ter, as well asofotherswliich may follow in a Aubscquent pa- 
per, being of real import ince to the inieresLs of our citizens. 
Tliey are true, and should be published throughout the land. 

II. J. KELLEY 

"Honolulu, Oahu, .Sandwich Islands, 
March IS, 1S40. 
"Hall .T. Rblley, esq. Boston: 

"Dear Sir: I have received the pamphlet of documents re- 
lating to the action of Congress on the Oregon Territory. 
Please receive my thanks for the same. Is it not astonishing 
that our Government should show so much apathy on a ques- 
tion involving our national rights, honor, and piidel The Bri- 
tish have taken possession of, and are colonizing, a territory 
clearly ours, by discovery, by purchase from the Indians, and 
by former settlement of Jacob Astor's people. Our country- 
1 men are little aware 0/ the monopolizing, grasping, and ambi- 



8 



lious spirit of the British Hudson Bay Company in this pan of 
the world. 

"Look at what they have done, are now doing, and intend to 
do. They have, for two years last past, been increasing the 
number of their men at their establishment at Fort Vancouvre, 
on the Columbia. A month since a vessel of theirs took from 
here eighty natives of these islands, ostensibly for the purpose 
of farming, «tc. but really to increase their military force at 
the Columbia, and to resist any attempts on the part of our peo- 
ple or Government from dispossessing the company of the oc- 
cupancy of that place. 

"Alarge number of Saxony sheep have been imported into 
the Columbia for the breed. Las', year they imported SCO sheep 
from California for the like object. 

" It is reported here, and generally believed, that the Hudson 
Bay Company intend to es'ablish a oniony in Puget's Sound, 
Straits of Juan de Fuca. Two more ships are to be added to the 
company's marine in the North Pacific: for the purpose of ex- 
tending their operation to these islands and to China, and if 
possible, to monopolize the trade of the whole North Pacific! 
You well know they have already succeeded in respect to 
the /Mr trade of the Northwest coast; and I have to tell you that 
they have now succeeded in monopolizing the tiade to (he Ru.s- 
sian settlements at the Norfolk Sound, &c. The company 
have contracted to furnish them with any production 
of England and Europe, at about 30 per cent, on the prime cost, 
an advance hardly sufficient to cover tiie charge, but the object 
of the company will be obtained, viz. Zo destroy American 
eominerce oii the whole coast,ofthe Northwest. 

"A Company's vessel vviil leave this, and each succeeding 
year, from the Columbia to Norfolk sound, with a large con- 
tract of flour, wheat, beef pork, butter, &c. — actually realiz- 
ing some nf your madprojecls! I .ist year a fine coal mine was 
discovered somewhere near Pagei's sound, and 150 or 200 tons 
of the same was taken to England for sale by one of the Compa- 
ny's vessels, as much probably lor ballast as for profit. 

"Imight write a volume on the subject of this letter. But 
enough has been stated to show, that unless some of the ener- 
getic character of the 'old General' is shown by the present 
President, our trade in this part of the world, instead of increas- 
ing, must be destroyed by the overpowering capital of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, our rights as to the sovereignty over 
the Oregon territory laughed at, and our character as a nation 
become a by -word to the world. Do, for the honor of our 
country, what you can to arouse our Government to the great 
importance of an immediate military occupation of tlie Ore- 
gon terriioiy, and the establishment of its northern boundary. 

"You may make such useof this letter (written in haste)as 
you think proper. Your friend, 

HENRY A. PIERCE." 

The foothold the compatiy acquired, as ?uc 
cesser to Mr. Asicr, was artfully secured to it for 
tea years by the ihirtJ article o! the treaiy of Oclo- 
ber, 1818, between ihe United Siates and Great 
Britain, and prolonged for an indefinite period by 
the trt^aty of September, 1827, the panies reserving 
the risht to put an end to it by giving twelve 
mon:lis' no'ice. The Senate will pe'ceive at once 
some of Ihe evil consequences flowing from per- 
mitting oursslvfs to be entangled in the me-hcs of 
dip'rm-^cy, in regard to our title, which we nf ver 
should have allowed ourselves to discuss with any 
Europesn power whatever. The?e treaties have 
prevented any legislative action, on the part of the 
United States^ to encourage emigration by making 
grants of liind to settler.'^, buiU'irg tor'.s, cuL-tom- 
houses, or any governrxicnta! act which would have 
the appearance of permansnt posses-ion or exclu- 
sive jurisdic!ion, v.'hiist the title v/as thus placed in 
aheiante. They proved a stumbling block to Doc- 
tor Floyd, and to every otlrer mcmtier of Congrets 
who may have attempted any ihirg of a legislative 
kind, with a view to the occupation and ?ettleri:ent 
of this tetritory. 

These treaties should be put an end to by the 
President, and the subject opened again for dis- 
cussion or final setilement in some v^^ay. Dt- 
lay only v;eakens n-, and strengthens the claims 
of our adversary, as in the !\ipine boundary. 
The United Slates is now the second commer- 
cial nation in the world, and in another quar- 



ter of a century, will probably be the first.— 
The genius and enterprise of oar conntrymeo 
carry them to the almost bounds of the earth, 
our canvass whitens every sea, and our flag 
floats on every breeze. In no portion of the 
world has this commerce increased faster than 
in the Pacific ocean, the capital invested be- 
ing not less than twenty millions of dollars, and 
giving employment to twelve or f:)urieen thousand 
seamen. To this commerce the Territory of Ore- 
gon is of the highest importance ia times of peace, 
and during the period of war is indispensable. Had 
we possessed some strongly fort.fied port on the 
Northwest cc&st as a place of refage during the 
late war with England, Commodore Porter's dar- 
ing enterprite and eflTorts would have been crown- 
ed with entire success; instead of injuring mate- 
rially, he would have completely cut up the ene- 
my's commerce in that quarter, ant; saved himself 
and gallant crew from the melancholy fate which 
befel them at the hands of a perfidious foe, who 
attacked them in Valparaiso, a neutral port, in op- 
position to the laws of nations, and in defiance of 
every principle of chivalry. The possession of 
OfL'gon, independent of the protectioa and enlarge- 
ment it would give to. trade in the North Pacific, is 
o! primary importance to our expanded and (dan- 
gerous Indian relations; to our iotercsurse with the 
Northern Provinces of Mexico; to our fur trade; 
but above all, as an outlet to the Anglo-American 
family, destined, in ihe progress of t.rae, to carry 
across the Pacific Ocean, to the land of the First 
Pf.rents of all mankind, the blessings of free prin- 
ciples in Government. For ages past, England 
has pursued one uniform line o"f policy; and that 
was, by conquest or otherwise, to lay hold of all 
the stron* points of the globe, from which to annoy 
or ruin the commerce of others and protect her own. 
She overawes the East India trade from the Cape of 
Good Hope — flaiiks it from St. Helena, the Mara- 
tinus, Madagascar and Ceylon — commands the 
entire commerce of the Mediterranean Sea by the 
impregnable fortress of Gibraltar and 'he scarcely 
less impregnable Island of Malta — flanks the trade 
of North America from Halifax and the Bermu- 
das; commands theGulf of Mexico and a portion of 
South America from the Islands of Jamaica and 
Trinidad; and in less than twenty years the Isthmus 
of Darien, the Sandwich Islands. Upper Califor- 
nia and the territory of Oregon, will be added to 
the avergrown dominions of the British Crown, un- 
less this Government, by suitable preparation, 
takes that stand its lasting inierests require. Under 
cover cf the East India Company she has subju- 
gated kingdoms in Asia, and threatens to augment 
her conquests by the overthrow of the Ctiicese 
Etnpire. Under the mask of the Hudson's Bay 
Company she is insiduously at work to engross the 
fur trade; gain a predominating influetice over all 
the Western Indians up to the very borders of Ar- 
kan.a-, Mis.'ouri, and Iowa; and acquire actual 
poss sion of some of the fairest portions of this 
contin-nt. He said he would not dwell longer en 
this subject, nor attempt to delineate the many 
evil effects which wc uld follow the continued pos- 
session of the territory of Oregon fey the English. 

If parted with, its price ought to be blood. Id all 
times and countries, the fiercest conflicts between 



individaals and the bloodiest wars between na- 
tion?, have grown out of disputed claims to land 
or ierritor>; and he very much feared that we were 
about to furnish another example. 

Are these two vexed questions, so long under d s 
cussion, in a fair way lo be amicably adjusteii? 
No, sir; they arc not. Will members of this bndv 
rise in their places and say they are? Every hour 
widenv. the breach. And, if so, \rho can tell, at 
what moment some outbreak may lake place along 
the exiended and exciled i orders, on either side, 
which may plunge us suddenly into a state cf hos- 
tilities wi^h the mightiest power of the world? 

Are we pr^'pared lo repel aggression or to en- 
ferce our rights in cither of these ca^es of disputed 
territoiyl No, sir, we are not; nor will we ever 
be, so long as we continue lo ; qnander, by dividing 
to the States the revenues which should be appro- 
priated to the army and navy, and the defences ol 
the country. Oq the one hand, we arc plundered 
of our terriiory by a foreign power, and on the 
other, we rob the Treasury of our comttion coun- 
try of the means necessarv to lis recovery, and ne 
cesstry to the defence of the whole Union. Is this 
patriotic Of statesman like? Can such conduct bf 
justified by the letter or spirit of the Constitution? 
Will our constilutnts ju.'nify i'? 

Mr. LINN said, he would call the atienlion of 
the Senate to a subject somewhat connected with 
the laji, which be ihought of great magnitude, and 
which seemed to him to have been ireafcd with 
uumeii'ed indifference for years pa^t by most of 
our publ c men, and indeed by the American peo- 
ple generally — that was, the influence Great Bri- 
tain exerts > ver Indian tribes within the jurisdic- 
tion of the United Stales. Against this enormous 
evil a prompt remedy should be provided. During 
the war of the Revolution, and down to the present 
period, the British Government has unifcroly re- 
sorted lo the barbarous policy of subsidzingsa 
vages, in war and in peace, within and beyond the 
boundary line of the United States. To perpetuate 
th:s influence, for the purpose of using them against 
us in the event of hostilities, has never been lost 
sight of by her stales men; and probably never will 
cease uniil such reprei-entation* are made against 
its continuance as cannot be mistaken. It .vas 
not his intention, on this occasion, to open ihe 
bloodstained p^iges of our Revolutionary history, 
filled as they were with accounts of the frightful 
atrocities of a savage enemy, acting under the in- 
fluence 01 the English aathoriiies. But with the 
treaty of 1763, wi ich secured our independence, 
peace was not restored befweea the Indians snd 
the whiles. On the contrary, the most destructive 
war, excited by forei.^n influence, was kept up for 
many years. History say$, that fiom 1783 to 1790, 
not less than three thousand persons were murder- 
ed, or dra2,"?ed into captivity from the frontiers of 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky. Tne."5calp' 
and the prisoners travelled the old w.ir-paths. The 
British Indian department was both strong anH 
active. A personal inspection was ma'e by Lieut 
Gov. Hunter, and a fort was commencexl on the 
Miami. The hopes of the Indians wrre elated by 
the celebrated war talk of Lord Dorchester. Pro- 
fuse issues of cloihing, provisions, and ammunition, 
were made to them. Several intercepted letters of 



British officers were published, which leave no doubt 
of the influence exerted upon the Indians. Gen. 
Wayne, in hi* official report, says that he had ob- 
tained a victory ov<-t the combined forces of the 
hostile Indians, ami a consideiab'e number of 
volunteers and militia of Detroit, [then occupied 
and held by the Canadians,] And <his, too, in 
time of profound peace between the American and 
Briti!^h Government. The .savage warsjurii, .siimu- 
laied by this influence, and encouraged to continu- 
ance by the terrible disasters which befel the ar- 
mies of Harmar, Si. Clair, and others, va-s ulti- 
mately sub'ued in the memorable defeat of the 
Indians, in a battle with General Wayne, fought 
under the guns of an English fort, erected withia 
ihe territory of the United States, and held in defi- 
ance cf a solemn lreat> ! After the convention of 
Greenville, a general calm CRSued amo:g our red 
neishbors, wh'ch was occasionally interruf.ted by 
the incursion ot some predatory band, with the 
a?a-A acco.Tipaniments of conflagration, robbery 
ind murder. But it must not be supposed, that 
during this general cessation of hostilities, the 
Enalish Government, its agents or trader:;, were 
idle. Pensions were granted and regularly paid to 
Indian chiefs and warriors; and arm^^, ammuni'i. n 
and cloihing, distributed to all whom they cou'd 
reach, whose trade or co-operation might be useful 
wiihin or wi houiour jurisdiction. A long series 
of insults and injuries upon the ocean and upon 
the land, followed up by iheattack upon theCh^sa-- 
p? ake frisate, in our own waters, and within sight 
of CUV shores, rous-ed the whole country from its 
lethargy, and for a moment the spirit of our fadiers 
flashed across the land. A point seemed to have 
been reached, when forbearance ceased to be a virr 
tup. From that time new life and aciiviiy were 
infused into her Indian affairs by the British au- 
thorities, in anticipation of coming events; and 
Indian outrages upon our defenceless frtntiers, 
kept pace with the increased activity of the prinse 
movers of them- 

The restless, enterprising, and chivalrous spirit 
of Tecum-^eh was put in motion; he flew iiora na- 
tion to natiem, and for years exerted his great abili- 
ties to form a coalition among all the trills un- 
friendly to the United Sia'es. Th?se eff'oris, to a 
"reat extent, v.-ere su cessful. The battle cf Tippe- 
canoe, ioughl in November, 1811, whilst ha wason a 
mission to the Southern Indian?, and the decbvatioa 
of war Psainst the Engli.sh, in 1812, prevented the 
comr)letion of his great design. At ihe/ame time 
that the Indian chief was at work on the borders, 
orci'ing every wh^re his rsd brethren tu a united 
efTnrt against "the Ameiican*, ihe English emissary 
and spy, John Henry, was carrying on his opera- 
tions in 'he bowels of the land, to promote strife 
and disunion. No sooner did hostilities commence, 
than we agnin find the combined foice of the Bri- 
tish snd Indians enter the field as our enemies. 

T. em^sfacreat the River Raisir, of Dudley's 
army, ?nd thp midnight conflagration and murder 
along the frontier, will attest how faithfully their 
red allies performed the work assigned them. The 
Indian of the desert was true to his engagpments, 
and in return his civilized, polished, chiistiaa 
friend clothed, fed, and paid him from his aban- 
daal stores; and during the negotiations for peace 



10 



at Ghent, he was not forgotten, as will be seen 
from the following proposition made by his Britan- 
nic Majefiy's rainiiEers to the American ambassa- 
dors. The enormity of this demand will be per- 
ceived at ouce by tracing the lines on a map. 

"Ttie next important point to be attended to in a treaty of 
peace wit li tlie United Slates, is anew boundary for the In- 
dians. • 

"The boundary line which appears best for the protection ol 
Indian rights, and which would add to the security of Canada, 
would be to run a line from Sandusky, on Lake Erie, to the 
nearest waters falling into the Ohio; then down that river, 
and up the Mississippi, to ihemoufk of the Missouri; thence 
up the Missouri to its principal source, confiningjhe United 
States to the Rocky Mountains as their westeryi boundary, 
and excluding them from all the country to the northwest and 
westward of thelines h-ire designaled,iehich,from those lines 
to that which should be agreed on as the British boundary of 
Canada, should remain icholly for the Indians as their 
hunting groutids. s he boundary between the United States and 
the Indians, as fixed upon by the treaty of Greenville, before al- 
luded to, would perhaps answer as the new boundary line for 
the protection of the Indians, if extended so as to run 
up tlie Missouri to the Rocky Mountains; provided 
that all the reservations a.nd conditions in that treaty relative 
to the various tracts of ground within that line, for the advan 
tage of the United S'ales, and all other condiiions attached lo 
them liy it, he wholly done aioay, and the American Govern- 
mefn tarid probably, al.so reciprocally the British) excluded 
from haviiig any (orts, military posts, territorial jurisdiction, 
or public prospects of any kind, within the Indian line: but the 
*ona jfe/e property of white people, in lands within that boun- 
dary, where the Indian tides shail have been fairly extinguish- 
ed [irevious to a new treaty with America, might perhaps be 
safely allowed under the territorial jurisdiction of Great Bri- 
tain. 

"This would, of course, obviate the necessity of any reser- 
vation as to the right of the British to carry on trade with die 
Inilians, whose independence being thus established, they would 
have the right to admit or interdict whom they please; and we 
we'l know to whom they would, both from inclination and in- 
terest, give the preference. This is the more desirable, as the 
intercoiirse with the Indians of that quarter by the Briiish, be- 
ing carried on by permission, as it were, of a jealous and hos- 
tile nation, has been the fruitful source ol iniiiiumerable exac 
tion.«. continued disputes, and incessant broils. 

"For men whose friendship has been recently shown to be of 
such great importance to us, we cannot do too much. We 
should see all their wrongs redressed, their territory restored to 
tbeni; and themselves rendered forever secure from American 
encroachment. But the ii. dependence of the Indians cannot 
be efftictually preserved by the articles of any treaty which 
shall ptovide security for the Indian territory or Indian rights, 
unless, what is indispensable for their due execution. Great 
Britain become the avowed guaraiuee and protector of those 
rights and that territory, so a"s to have both the right and the 
power oi instant interference, in case of any encroachments 
and violation, and not, as hitherto, be a silent spectator of 
■wrongs and injustice, more immediately injurious to the abo- 
rigines, but eventually as ruinous to the security of the Cana- 
das." 

This was the basis of^the modest proposition to 
divide the Union, and form from a portion of it an 
Intiian territory under the guardianship of Eog- 
]and, «hir,h was firmly asd successfully resisted 
by ihi^ American commissioners — liihough pre- 
sented as a sine guanosi, and in lieu cf it, they re- 
tnrned a counter projet, having for its object a 
prohibition against the employment cf savagrs bv 
either country, in the event of any future wars be- 
tween thfm. The English envoys rejected this 
philanthropic proposition as inadtnis-^ible. What 
admirable consistency, humanity and justice Great 
Britain exhibits to the world' By her social sys- 
tem o' li^ws she taxes one portion of her ci;:z^ns 
to support another — liberates black slaves in th? 
West Indie?, and impresses h^r s^iilors and drags 
the, n in fetters on b'"'ard hprfli>ati!3g dungeons to 
fight th^ country's battles in distaut seas, far from 
borne or friends — holds "world's conventions," to 
emancipate j^laves in the United -States, and tram- 
plea under foot the conqtiered peniasala of Hindos- 



tan, and noble, generous Ireland — invades China j 
for seizing and confiscating English contraband i 
opium, and pays a premium to savages to burn, 
murder and scalp her own fle*h and blood in the 
United States — has no law on her statute books for j 
puni-hingher own people for a bresch of neutra-, 
iity, but threatens wpr if the laws of neutrality are 
not strictly enforced by us — demands imperiously in. 
demniiy lor injuries done to the persons and pro.^ 
perty of her subjects, yet refuses indemnity, or sa. 
tisfaction for the violation of our territorty he de- 
struction of the Caroline and the murder of our 
citizens. 

As before stated, after the treaty of 1783, the 
northwest Indians, iustieated by Easlish means 
ad 3gents,.coniim5ed their cruel and de.Mructive 
war against us until their complt-te overthrow by 
Gen. Wayne, in 1793. So also after the treaty of 
Ghent, in 1814, the Southern Indians, by similar 
mean.-;, were u.rged to hottilities equally desolating 
to that frontier, uniil the Seminoles were signally 
defeated by Gen. Jackson in 1818. Reports on 
your files from Governors Cass and Clarke, and 
from Indian agents, as Fulkerson, Schoolcraft, 
Hughes, Dougherty, &c — from traders and travel- 
lers, as Ashley, Gordon, Farnbam, Piicher, Sub- 
lette, &c. &c. all conclusively pr^ ve that the exer 
cise of this Britiih influence is destructive to the 
property and lives of our people. Nor will it be 
permitted to cease, as is apparent from the follow- 
ing. Lord Glenel-?, in a de.spatch addressed to the 
Eail of Gcssford and Sir F. Head, of 14th January 
1836, says: 

"The annual expenditure incurred by this country [Great 
BrilainJ on account of Indians in Upper and Lower Canada 
has been limited, since the year 1830, lo £20,000; of this sum, 
j6 15,850 has been considered app'icable lo the purchase of pre- 
sents, and £4,150 to pay and pensions of Indian Departments. 

"Deferring, for the present, any observation on this latter 
branch of expenditure, I feel bound, after much consideration, 
to express my opinion, that the time has not yet arrived at 
which it would be possible, consistently with good faith, alto 
gether to discontinue the annual presents to the Indians, l 
appears that, although no formal obligation can be cited for 
such issues, there is yet ample evidence that on every occa- 
sion when this comdry has been engaged in war on the 
North American continent, the co operation of the Indian 
tribes has been anxiously sought, and has been obtained. This 
was particularly the case in the years 1777 and 1812; and I am 
inclined lo believe that it is from these periods respectively 
that the present annual supplies dale iheir commencement. 

"Of the sum expended in presents, there is, however, a por- 
tion which would appear to be placed under peculiar circum- 
stanses It has often been represented, and lately on official 
authority, that of the Indians who receive presents from the 
British Government, a considerable number reside within the 
United States, and only resort to Canada at the periods of 
issue." 

That American Indians resorted annually to Ca 
nada f< r their presents, could be easily proved. 
An officer in out service, stationed at Fort Brady, 
informed him that he counted 8,000 who passed 
that post in 1840 to receive their accusinmed pre- 
sents, which supports the s atements of our Indian 
As ents. If the two Government* should ever open 
negotiations with a view to a fitial settlement of all 
the points in dispute bptween them, he hoped this 
would be made a prominent one; yes, a sine qua 
nan. 

With but little aid from the Slates east of 
the Alleghany mountain.?, the Western States 
have increased in wealth and population ia 
obedience to the eternal laws that direct 
and govern their onward march. Every thing 



II 



that Government could do has been done to 
encourage and expand maritime commerce, and 
afford it ample protection. Let a ship be plundered 
and the crew murdered in Java, or in any ot ihe 
far distant isles of the ocean, and one oi our na- 
tional vessels is promptly despatched to demand re- 
dreg's, orpuni?h aggression; whilst murder and de- 
va!-taiion on the frontier sometimes pass unheedei', 
and our claims to indcmnilv are often treated with 
neglect and indifference. As yet, ihc General Go- 
vernment has done hut little to encourage the trade 
and mtercourse between the people of the We?t end 
the interior provinces of Mexico; and nothing to 
increase the trade between the whites and Indians. 
The erection of a line of military posts from the 
Missouri to the Columbia, and allowing a draw- 
back upon such srticles of merchandise as are 
used in both rr.'ides, would po far loward.s placing 
us on an equal fooiirg with ihe English or any fo- 
reign power. In vain, year after y-ar, has Mis- 
souri sent here memorial after memorial, relaiing 
to ihe subjsct of drawback:. A deaf ear was 
turned up m all our representaiions, until within the 
last thre« year.",, wh^n a coinmiitee was found fa- 
vorable to the mea^u^e, which reported a bill ttiat 
passed the Senate twice in succession, but which 
was buried beneath a mass of other business accu 
mnldied by the perpetual strife and wasi of time 
spent in President making. Some of the evil effects 
of this long delay, and want of proper attention on 
the part of ihe United States, have been, that the 
American traders on the Santa Fe route, and the 
hunters and trappers on the Rocky Mountains, 
and oh the Upper Missouri and Mr'ssij-sippi, are 
oft n shot with British rifles, knocked on the head 
with British hatcbets, and scalped with British 
knives, in the hands of Indians wearing Briti«h 
blanket*. He said that if he had dwelt at some 
length on this subject, it was because he felt as a 
Western man should feel, the blood of whose 
friends and relatives had been poured out like wa- 
ter by the red man upon the soil of almost every 
State and Territory in the valley of the M ssissippi; 
and a'^a representative from Missouri, v;hose in'e- 
res's are deeply and immediately involved in this 
and Oregon affairs; and were his voice potent 
enough, it should reach the ear of ev^ry man in 
the Republic, and roue him to a due sense of the 
importance of this species of foreign influence. 
Leaving out of the account the forced acknowledg- 
ment of our independence, and her defeats upon 
the ocean, and by our armies durmg the la'-t war, 
if England r^ere to embody all her causes of com- 
plaint a^rainst this country, they would b? but a 
feaiher in the balance, when weighed against her 
Indian enormities. 

Tne next in point of importance, if not the most 
pressing in its nature, was the searching and cap- 
ture, by British ships of war, of a number of our 
merchant vessels engaged in legitimate trade on 
the coast ot Africa, under the plea that they were 
concerned in the slave trade. These cap'ure^ 
wer^ made under circumstances well calculated tr 
stir the blood of Americans, and revive the recol- 
lection of outrages cmmiitei. in years long since 
passed, when, under British orders in council, se- 
cretly sent forth to their naval commanders, our 
ships were seized upon the higti seas, without 



warning or notice, and plnndsred, or burnt, orcon-- 
fiscated by thtir Courts ot Admiralty. He was the 
more anxious to have the attention of the Senate to 
ibis matter, as it had begun since the outrage upon 
the Caroline, he believed, and was growing to aa 
extent which >ecraed to increase in proportion to 
the impunity with which it was suffered to exist. 
Disturbed, as the harmony of the two countries un- 
questionably was, nothing could be better contrived 
to widen the breach than this pracUcal revival of the 
unjust and exploded doctrines of the right of 
search, and nothing seemed wanting to complete 
the circle of onr wrongs but a renewal of the prac- 
tice of impressiu? American ?eanaen into the Eng- 
lish navy. -And if these captures are not promptly 
disavowed or atoned for, he thought the United 
Sta'es would bs justified in the eyes of the world 
in commencing hostilities at once. Mr. L. said 
he regretted to see the chairman of the Committee 
on Foreign Relations [Mr. Rive-] was not in his 
feat, as he desired to a-k him some questions 
lourhing this subject. His absence weld com- 
pel him to make use of Doc. No. 34, which had 
been laid en cur tables, since July 14ih, without 
once being alluder-! to by that chairman, or any 
member of the body, so far as his memory served 
him. As this document was long, he would con- 
tent hira.seiJ with reading a few passages Ciom the 
able and spirited leiier of our Minister, Mr. Ste- 
venson, addressed to Lord Palmerston, but would 
make free use of these communications in hi.s prin'» 
ed remarks, that his constituents might have the 
information it contained in their possession. Mr. 
Forsyth, in a despatch, calls the attention of our 
Minister to the seizure of the Jones, Seam^w, and 
Tigress, under the pretenrp of their being engas^ed 
in the slave trade, and to th3 outrage committed oa 
the William and Frances — he says: "the per.-ist- 
ance in these unwarrantable proceeding;- isnolonly 
destructive to private interests, but must inevita- 
bly destroy the harmony of the two countries." — 
These cases were formally laid before the English 
Ministers, in addition to others of a simihr nature, 
and no answer returned. Again: Mr. Sievenson 
complains to Lord Palmerston of the capture of 
the lago, of New York, under circum-^tances of 
an agcrav.Tied kind, such as breaking o^ea trunks 
of the captain and sailors, plunder ot clothing, 
nautical in^ruments, &c. &c. and in the case 
of the Hero, of New Orleans, in the following 
words : 

"II appears that tliis schooner sailed from the Havana in June, 
I'JJO, with a cargo of assoried nierchantlise, bound to Wyhah 
on the African coast. That, on her voyage on tlie 9th of Au- 
gust, she xvas boanied by her lHajesty's brig the Lynx, and 
brought to anchor, her hatches were broken open and over- 
hauled, and the commander of the Lynx then determined to 
send her into Sierra Leone. That after removing a part of Ihe 
crew of the schooner on board the cruiser, and sending his own 
n.en to take chargeof the Hero, who robbed her of a part of her 
supplies, the commander of the Lynx determined to surrender 
theschooner and permit her to pur-'ue hervoyage That, on the 
arrival of the schooner at Wydah, her cargo wa." found to have 
tieen greatly damaged by the crew ol the Lynx, during her cap- 
ture and detonrion by the British commander. 

"These are the malerial facts in relation to the two cases now 
submitted. The previous communications which the under- 
signed has had the honor heretofore of addressing to Lord Pal- 
merston on subjects of a similar character, will relieve him from 
the necessity of recurring to the peculiar circumstances under 
these repeated »utrages upon the vessels and commerce of Ame- 
rican ciirzcns have been perpetrated, or discussing the princi- 
ples under which her Majesty's officers have attempted lojueti- 
fy their conduct." • 



18 



To these oft repeated complaints of captures and 
outrages, no answer was returned, though pressed 
for one, as will be seen from the following letter: 

Mr. Stevenson to the Secretary of State— Extract. 
Legation of the United States, 

London, April 19, iSll. 
"In compliance with the instructions received iVom your 
predecessor, I addressed to Lord Palmerston a note upon the 
subject of the seizure on the African coast, of four vessels 'the 
Tigris,' 'Leamew,' 'Jones,' and •William and Frances.' A 
copy of my note I have the honor to transmit. My previous 
despatches will have informed you of thesteps I had taken on 
this subject previous to your taking charse of our foreign re- 
lations. Mostof the cases which have been submitted to this 
Governinent, you will see, have remained unanswered, not- 
withstanaing every effort on my part to obtain justice for the 
claimants and get a decision." 

Again, under date of April 16, 1841, he sends 
another official note to Lord Palmeis'oa, and as it 
covers the whole ground, he would, with pe;mis- 
sion, read it to the Senate. 

lENCLOSURE.] 

Mr. Stevenson to Loid Palmerston. 

32 Upper Grosvenor street, 
,,,- ^ April 16, l&ll. 

My Lord: It is with unfeigned regret that I have the honor 
of acquainiirg your lordship (hat it has been made my duty 
again to invite the attention of her Majes y's Government to 
the subject of (he continued seizure an^l detention of American 
vessels by British cruisers on the high seas, and to express 
the painful surprise with which the Government of the United 
States have learned that the repeated representations which 
have hereto'ore been made on the subject, have not only re- 
mained without ellect, in obtaining a favorable decisri-on, but 
have failed to receive the attention which their importance 
merited. That a series of such open and unprovoked ai^Tes- 
sions as those which have been practised for the last two or 
three years by her Majesty's cruisers on the vessels and com- 
tnerceofthe United States, and which were made the subject 
of complaint, would have been permitted to remain so Ion" un- 
decided, was not to have been anticipated. 

"On the contrary, my Government had confidently expected 
that the justice of the demands which had been niade would 
either have been acknowledged or denied or satisfactory rea- 
sons for the delay adduced. 

"This was to have been expected, not leas for the justice of 
her Majesty's Government than the respect which was due to 
(hat of the United States. Her Majes'y 's Government, ho wever, 
have not seen fit to adopt this course, but hiive premiited a 
delay to place of so marked a character as not only to the in- 
dividual injuries which have been sustained, but to become a 
lit subject of complaint. It is in this view that I have been spe- 
cially instructed to make another appeal to your lordship; and, 
in doing, so, to accompany it with four additional cases of sei- 
zure ol American vessels on the African coast, of character 
more violent and aggravated than those which I have before 
had the honor of presenting to the notice of her M;iJFRty's Go- 
vernment. These are the cases of the brig 'Tigris- and ship 
Seamew,' of Massachusetts, and the barks '.Jones,' and 'Wil- 
liam and Frances,' of New York. For the more clear and sa- 
tisfactory undtrstandingof each particular case, I beg leave to 
refer your lordship to the documents which I have'received, 
copies of which I have now the honor of transmitting. These 
papers require noconment. I shall therefore refrain from 
troubling your lordship with a recapitulation of ths details 
which they contain. The only inquiry which I presume it 
■will be iiecessai-y to make, will be, whether the vessel were the 
property ofAmericanciiizenSjunderthe protection of the United 
States, and were actually seized and detained by her Majesty's 
cruisers. How, of the national character of the four vessels, your 
lordship, will at once perceive that the evidence is conclu- 
sive. 

They were documented, according to the laws of the United 
States, are the property of their citizens, and were under the 
protection of the American flag at the time of seizure. In the 
case of the Tigris,' she was not only literally captured, but 
sent with a prize crew from (he coast of Africa to the United 
States for condemnation, upon the alleged srouiid of having on 
toard an African boy, whom Lieutenant Watson chose to con- 
.sider as sufficient evidence of her bein.<r engaged 111 the slave 
trade, and consequently liable to capture aihd condemnation. 
This he admits in a letter addressed by him to the officer of the 
circuit court of the United States, under date of the 19th of 
October, 1840, a copy of which will be found amongst the pa- 
pers transmitted. Now, I do not mean to enter into the discus- 
sion of the light of her Majesty's officers to enforce the existing 
treaties for the suppression of the slave trade against the vessels 
and citizens of the UnitedStates on the high seas. The subject 



has been too repeatedly urged upon the consideration of your 
lordship and her Majesty's Government to render a recapitula- 
tion of the arguments necessary or proper. The determination 
of the United States has been distinctly announced, that they 
could admit no cognizance to be taken by foreign ships of those 
belonging to their citizens, on the ocean, and under their flag, 
either for the purpose of ascertaiRing whether their papers 
were genuine or forged, or whether the vessels were slavers or 
not. That the admission of any such pretension wauld, in 
effect, besurrendering the right of search. 

"This opinion, your lordship will find, has been repeatedly 
made known to her M.ijesty'B Government, not only in the com' 
munications which I have had the honor of addressing to you, 
but in those of the Secretary of State to Mr. Fox, her Majesty's 
Minister,and which doubtless were conimunicated by him for the 
information of his Government It becomes my duty, there- 
fore, again, distinctly to express to your lordshiji the fixed de- 
termination of my Government, that Iheirjiag is to be the safe- 
guard and protection to the persons and property <3i its citizens 
and all under it, and that these continued aggressions upon the 
vessels and commerce of the United States cannot longer be 
permitted. Nor is there in this course any thing which canjustljf 
be considered a^ at all in conflict with the laws and 
policy of the United States on the subject of the African slave 
tra.le. In prohibiting, under the severest penalties, the partici- 
pation of their citizens and vessels in that trade, there is no pre- 
tence for the exercise of a right of search on the part of foreign 
nations. The violation of the laws of the United States is a 
matter exclusively for their own authorities, and however sin- 
eere the desire of their Government may be, as in truth it is, to 
punish those of their cit;zens who participate in the trade, it 
cannot permit foreign nations to interfere in the enforcement of 
their penal laws. Yielding, as the United States readily do, to 
other nations the undoubted and full exercise of their sovereign 
rights, their own dignity and security require the vindication of 
their own. For the aboliiion of the slave trade, the United 
States have adopted such measures as were deemed most effi- 
cacious and proper. If they had not been such as her Majes- 
ty's Government wished to have been adopted, it may be cause 
of regret, but not for intervention. Each nation must be 
left to judge for itself Each be the arbiter of its own justice. 
This, it is needless to remind your lordship, is an esseniial right 
of sovereignty, which no independent nation will yield to ano- 
ther. It should also be borne in mind that, in making the slave 
trade piracy, the Government of the Ui.ited States have not 
thereby made it an offence against the laws of nations, inas- 
much as one nation cannot increase or limit the public law. Re- 
luctant, then, as the United States must always be to take any 
course which, in the opinion of her Majesty's Government, 
might have the effect of throwing obstacles in the way of the to- 
tal abolition of this inhuman and detestable traffic, it can never 
consent, even for such a purpoiie, to allow foreign vessels the 
right of entering or searching tliose of the United States, or vi- 
olate the freedom of her flag. 

"I have accordingly been instructed to bring the subject again 
under your lordship's notice, and to express the confident ex- 
pectation of my Government, that these ..outrages upon 
the vessels and property of its citizens, by her Ma- 
jesty's naval officers, will not only be disavowed by her 
Majesty's Government, and the individuals concerned in 
their perpetration punished, but that ample redress 
for the injuries sustained will be made with as little 
delay as possible. In ma'ting this appeal, I need not again re- 
mind your lordship of the length of time which has elapsed 
since many of these cases were presented, or how repeatedly 
and earnestly they have been pressed upon the consideration of 
her Majesty's Government. It must now be apparent, that nei- 
ther the dignity of the Government of the United States, norths 
duty which it owes its citizens, can justify any further delay in 
their final disposition. Indeed, such continued and unprovoked 
aggressions upon the rights and persons of American citizens, 
contrary to every principle of common justice and right, and in 
violation of all the principles of public law, is becoming a mat- 
ter of so much importance as to involve considerations of the 
deepest interest to both Governineni.s, and cannot fail, if longer 
delayed, to interrupt the amicable relations of two countries, 
which it is so much the desire and interest of both Governments 
to cultivate and preserve. 

'■I pray your lordship to accept assurances of the distinguish 
ed consideialion with whicli I have.the honor to be, your obc 
dient servant, A. STEVENSON." 



To this forcible communication no vvriUen aa 
swer, as far as we have any knowledge, had yet 
becQ returned. Her Britannic Ma. esiy's ministers 
appear as reluctant to wriie uptm this, as upon the 
subject of burning the Caroline, the violaiirn of our 
territory, and the murder of our people; although 
Lord Paimerston manifests a strong dislike to com- 
mitting himself on paper in regard to this matter, 



IS 



he was not quite so repugnant to holding a conver- 
sation. Mr. Stevenson says, in a note to Mr. Web- 
ster, dated March 14, 1841: 

"In the course of ihe interview, I took occasion to draw Lord 
Palmerston's attention to the subject of the African seizures, 
&.C. He said, in the course of the conversation, in reply to Mr. 
Stevenson, 'that tue right existed op ascertaining, in 

SOME WAV OR ANOTHER, THE CHARACTER OF TUB VESSEL; 
AND THAT By HER PAPERS, AND NOT THE COLORS OH FLAG 
WHICH MIGHT BE DISPLAYED. 

"I at once assured him that, under no circumstances would 
the Government of the United States consent to the exercise of 
the right, on the part of any foreign nation, to inierrupt, board, 
or search their vessels on the liigli seas. That, to admit the 
right of a foreign naval officer to decide upon the genuineness 
of the papers of American vessels, by boarding them, or bring- 
ing their captains on board of British cruisers, was, in etlect, 
allowing the right of search, and therefore utterly indefensible; 
that my Government would neverconsent toil, underany from, 
however limited or modified. His lordship said that it could 
not be regarded as a right of search— that was not desired by 
her Majesty's Government. That it was the wish of both Go- 
vernments to see the irafic in slaves abolished; and he did not 
see how it ever could be accomplished, unless some mode was 
adopted of ascertaining the real character of vessels suspected 
of being slavers, and preventing the abuse of our flag. This 
was the substance ofa brief conversation on the subject.' 

Mr. L. said, that if ihe English Government was 
as anxious to preserve the peace of the iwo coun- 
tries, as us statesmen seemed to indicate was its 
earnest desire, he must be permitted to say, that 
some very strange methods were taken to prove 
that Inve of peace, and to prove ir^ friendship for 
the United Slate. To him, it rather seemed as if 
they were calculating the number of stripes this 
country would bear without resistance, and these 
seizures were as unkind and deep a cut, as this na- 
tion could have rscsived. 

It has been repea'edly urged on this ioor, that 
the peace of the two countries was in no danger 
lof being broken, it being their mutual interest to 
;pres'5rve it; that peace was still mor.- important to 
the interest of England than to the United States. 
Genijeraen may find themselves greatly mistaken. 
In 1812, during the gloomiest period of her hii^tory, 
when the power of Bonaparte overshadowed all 
Europe, and almo'?t every continental port was 
closed on her commerce, England forced tbisicoun 
try, by a long list of injuries, inio a declaration of 
war rather than avert it by making a timely con- 
cession to justice, which would neither have vio- 
lated her iutercois nor lessened her dignity. If, 
under such circumstances, she refused coRcession 
or justice, what have you to expect noio, when her 
arms and policy are carried in triumph over the 
world. Her statesmen are far-seeing and far- 
reaching, and pursue a cold, stern, unbending line 
of policy, always having in view the aggrandize- 
nenlof their own country- 
It may be her interest to acquire by conquest 
what she cannot acquire by diplora.acy — the terri- 
tory of Oregon and the conreciing link between 
:ier North American colonies. It may be her inte- 
rett to divert public opinion at home from pulling 
ber aristocratic institutions to pieces, by giving a 
new field of enterprise to re-stle^s spirits. Tiventy- 
five years ago you had but one caus'- of dispute, 
your Maine boundary question; now }ou have 
piled up cause upon cause, till with the accumula- 
licD war appears iaevitable. He, (Mr. Linn,) n 
view of this almost inevitable result, must resist 
' this bill, for he could not consent to part with the 
' sinews of war till he was assured his country 
I was safe. Let her defence be first provided for, | 



and cease taxing and borrowing money, before you 
talk of distribution. It would cost fifteen millions 
of dollars to put the fortifications of thecity of New 
York, Boston, Portsmouth, Philadelphia, Narragan- 
set Bay, Baltimore, and the Delta of the Mississippi 
river, in aproper slate of defence. It would cost mil- 
lions for the protection of our coast bordering ou 
the Gulf ol Mexico, and near a million for the ex- 
posed Western frontier. The whole charge of onr 
national defence could not fall short of eighty mil- 
lions; and twenty millions more would be required 
for armaments, armories, foundries, and for 
steamships of war and batteries to compete with 
the ofiensive power of England. 

During the session of 1835, in view of the ex- 
posed situation of the Western frontier, crowded 
with Indians from the old States, and the destitu 
tion of soldiery to garrison some of the principal 
seaports — so destitute in consequence of the Flori- 
da war as not to be able to fire a salute from the 
forts on the appearance of a French national ves- 
sel of war, he had moved a resolution, in reply to 
which a lavorable repott was made from the War 
Departm-snt to the Senate. The subject was re- 
ferred to the Committee on Military Afl"airs, whose 
chairman [Mr. Benton] reported a bill to increase 
our little army from six to twelve thousand men,. 
and vhich finally passed Congress, notwithstand- 
ing strenuous oppo?iiion from leading Whigs. 

Will any say now this increase was not neces- 
sary? With an overflowing Trea'^qry, during the 
same session, gtntlemen in the Opposition (with 
some exceptions) opposed important appropria- 
tions, presented by his distinguished colleague, for 
national defences, to augment the sum to be distri- 
buted among the States. And now, when the 
Treasury is empty, and it is found necessary to re- 
sort to loans and taxes, they give from three to 
five millions from your lands te the States, can it 
be pretended that we are not now in as much need 
of ships and fortificalionS as we were of men lit 
1836 or '7? Can the course be reconciled to a re- 
fl<?cting people? 

That we are on the very eve of hostilities with 
Great Britain it seemed folly to doubt. He for 
one could not see clearly how it was to be avoided; 
one after another, black and portentous clouds- 
rise above the horizon, which must soon congre- 
gate into one dense mass and burst in a tempest 
upon our happy country. Others may perceive, 
beneath the (olds of the gathering storm, a bright 
line of tranquillity and peace. For one he could 
not — others may repose upon the unsubstantial vi- 
si'in of hope, or be lulled to rest by the sweet tones 
of her voice — he would not liUen to her syren 
songs ffhile he saw danger ahead. In all his con- 
versations with gentlemen of opposite politics, he 
never heard one deny but liiat there was imminent 
danjer of an immediate collision — yet, in this 
chamber, for political efl^ect he prexumed, they had 
nothing on their lips but peac^, peace. Sir, there 
is no peace he feared, for us. If the feigns of the 
times were not such as indicated bv 'he r Htical 
posiiion of ihi-! country and Eugland, hart.- > ■ uoi, 
in the rest of the world, evidence: that a cycle of 
war and peace follow each other in regular suc- 
cession, like the epidemics which affl ct mankind, 
and require us to provide a,gainst the evil to come? 



14 



la the natural revolutions of the world, a period of 
■war and peace teemed necessary to the present 
fallen state of man, and this would probably con- 
tinue until the benign influence of Christianity had 
softened all hearts and the torch of science illumi- 
nated all minds; it may be ages upon ages in it^ 
progress to perfection, but it was a glorious pros- 
pect to contemplate, although veiled in the womb 
of time. 

Philosophers may sigh for it, and the Christian 
•wait in meekness to hail its advent — but turn now 
to which side you will, to the Eastern or to the 
Western world, to the North or to the South, and 
you hear of wars and rumors of wars — even in our 
own peaceful land, the elements of strife seem in 
frightful commotion. 

While the party now in possession of the admi- 
nistration of the Govf rnment has been busy in 
concocting schemes to distribute the public lands. 
the prcceeds of which should be devoted lo the na- 
tional defences; while it has been deluding the peo- 
ple with (al»e promises of high wages and abun- 
dance; while it has been laboring here, day and 
night, lo erect an enormous bank machine, the ef 
fects of which would be to enable the rich to grind 
the face of the poor and unsuspecting, while it con 
templates relieving the pe( pie from pecuniary dis- 
tress by taxing them twenty per cent on articles of 
general consumption, to supply the deficiency cre- 
ated, or to be created, by the passage of this bill; 
the English Government has been drawing round 
the territory of the United States a cordon of mili- 
tary power, which shR can tighten at a moment's 
warnins. And may not that moment be near at 
hand? If M'Leod is hanged, Mr Fox, it is ?aid, 
will demacd bis passports and quit the country ; 
and the next you will hear will be the sound of the 
British cannon reverberating along your Atlantic 
border, and the ravage Indian's warwhocp along 
another. Yet all these admonitions, so rudely 
given for years past, are unheeded; and you go on 
making your paltry distributions of the means en- 
trusted 10 you for the nation'*; safety and honor. 
Mr. Fox says in effect to the Secretary of State, 
that if McLeod is not given up, the con.sequences 
will be of the most serious character. It will not, 
cannot be denied, that this is the languaga of inti- 
midation. If he (Mr. L.) had no other motive for 
hanging M'Leod than this, it should be done, 
if proved guilty of the crimes of which he 
is charged. But it was not the life of a i»ere 
man that could wipe out a nation's wrongs. 
Wbeher he was punished or not, this Government 
is bound in honor to have atonement for its deep 
injuries. It must insist on retraction and indem- 
nity. And this threat is superadded to the mur- 
der of your people, almost in cold blood. What 
may ha /e been the number of the living freight 
of the Caroline, which English violence committsd 
to the flames and sent booming over ihe cataract 
of Niagara, Heavei\ alone now can tell. This 
deed still cries aloud for redress. Your territory 
•has been violated, your citizens assailed in their 
l-cds and slaughtered, and their property destroyed 
;-,ad burned; and, to crown all, when the hand of 
the law is laid upon one of the murderers and de- 
spoilers, a nation, professing relations of amity, at- 
tempts to throw the mantle of her power and an* 



thority over the criminal, and avows, in the face of 
truth, the crime itself: and when it is said, we have 
the murderer — let him give satisfaction to the of- 
fended laws ! that nation insults you by a threat, 
and it is borne as'iamely as the original outrage? 
That proud nation, which never admits an equality, 
domineers now, as she always has done, and pro- 
claims to the world, as she always has done, that 
her individual subjects shall be protected by her 
power, no matter whether injured by sea or by 
land, in the territory of friend or foe. No expense 
of treasure or blood is permitted to stand in the 
way of this great and uniform line of policy. And 
when that proud nation holds such language to 
you — language never uttered by her without a 
meaning, nor ditiicult to be understood — is it a 
time to be paltering with your more than ques- 
tionable party measures, instead of looking to the 
timely and legitimate preparations for the gather- 
ing storm? How are you to avert it? Certainly not 
by standing idle with folded arms — certainly not 
by pursuing a tame, truckling policy towards our 
haughty mother — certainly rot by squandering 
your vast public domain for ignoble purposes! 
What sort of atonement or indemnity can you re- 
ceive for the seizure of your merchant ships on the 
coast of Africa, the burning of the Caroline, the 
invasion of our country, and the murder of our citi* 
zens? HoTv can the people cf the United States 
get rid of the responsibility of not acting with 
promptitude, or of the odium of being the inactive, 
quiescent recipient of these gross violations of their 
national rights? If the British Government is so 
tangible with regard to national honor, and so sensi- 
tive as respects the lives of its subjects as to threaten us 
with hoslililies because ihe laws of the State of JVew 
York endangers the life of one man, what ought this 
Government to feel, when citizens of the United 
S ales have been murdered, with the superadded 
indignities of properly destroyed and territory in- 
vaded? VVar, with all its concomitants, is a terri- 
ble scourge to a nation — dishonor is worse. 

Gentlemen will probably say, that he was ihis- 
taken in regard to the beligerent aspect of our af- 
fairs. He solemnly, before God, hoped it might be 
so. He had, however, formed his opinion from 
facts as they now exist. In this opinion he was 
supported by the course pursued by the British Go- 
vernmenl; for it was strengthening itself at every 
point — you see it in the increased activity of her 
dockyards, in preparing heavy line of battle ships, 
and in building and arming additional steam ves- 
sel; in the number of veteran troops stationed on 
our borders, aided by well organized provincial 
militia, with 20 or 30,000 black troops in the 
West Indies, and clouds of Indian warriors on your 
frontiers. But suppose that he war in error, it was 
still a paramount duty we ewe the country to place 
its defences on a formidable footing — it was a duty 
we shoiald neither postpone nor evade. He most 
sincerely desired never to see this a military Go- 
vernment; or that it should ever be infested wiih a 
spirit of conquest. We should only wish our prin- 
ciples to dominate. Their inherent beauty and 
strength would prove more powerful in changing the 
political condition of the world than conquering fleets 
and armies. Notwithstanding, the country should 
possess the necessary armaments to defy suddea 



15 



assaults, punish insulting threats, and enable it to 
take that stand among the nationsof the earth to which 
our numbers and resources entitle it. His amend- 
ment, if adopted, would contribute greatly to thrse 
desirable objects, and at the same time go very 
far towards tranquillizing the public mind in refe- 
rence to the national domain, as every man, wo- 
man, and child, in ihis broad land, was deeply in- 
terested in seeing its defences perfected. From 
the days of Washington down to the present mo- 
ment all your Presidents have united in ihe same 
opinion, in peace prepare for war. In this line of 
policy every Secretary of the Navy and of War 
have coincided. 

Yeur printed documents are full of reports from 
these departments relating to the defences by land 
and v/a!er. The report cf 1836 is a monument of 
wisdom in many reaped?, and that of 1840 is dis- 
tinguished for its ability. By addina the proceed* 
of the public lands tu the sums usually appropri- 
ated annually by Congress to the army, navy, and 
foriifications, ihey will in a iew years, under the 
direction of skilful officers, be perjected according to 
a just and equal system, which is due to the most ex- 
posed portions of the Union. There would be then no 
partial legislation for the benefit of one portion, at Ihr. 
expense of another. Pursue this course, and in 
twenty years you may defy the united powers of 
Europe, if not of the world. 

The board of officers selected by the War De- 
partment to eiamine the subject of our fortifica- 
tions, repotted in 1840 that the sums annexed 
were necessary to fortify the following named 
place?: 



THE NORTHERN SECTION Or THE COAST. 



Eastport and Machias, 
Mount Desert Island 
Castine 
Penobscot Bay 



§100 000 

500,000 

50,000 

150,000 



St. George's bay, Broad bay, Damariscotla, 

and Sheepscot 500 008 

Kenntb^ck river 300 000 

C Fort Preble, 155,000 

Portlani harbor < House Island, 48 000 

t Hog Island channel, 145,000 

The mouth of the Saco, Kennebunk, and 

York, 75,000 

PortsnKuih harbor, 500.000 

Newburyport harbor, 100,000 

Gloucester harbor, 200^000 

Beverly harbor, 50,000 

Maiblehead head, 318 000 
Boston haibor, 9,337,000 

Plymouth harbor, 110,00') 

Providence harbor, 600 000 



$6,118,000 

MIDDLE SECTION OV THE COAST. 

Manha'a Vineyard sound, 250,000 

New Bedford and Fairhaven harbor, 300,000 

Narragansett bay, 2,050 000 

Gardiner's bay, 400,000 

Sag harbor. New York, 100,000 

Stonington, Ct. 200,000 

New London harbor, 314 515 

Mouth of Connecticut river, 100,000 

New Haven harbor, 90,000 



Towns between New Haven and New 

York, on boh sides of the Sound, 200 000 

New York harbor, 5,369.824 

Delaware and city of Philadelphia, 1,121,000 

Hampton roads, James river, and Norfolk, 723, 189 
Harbor of St. Mary's 300 00ft 

Patuxent river, 505,000 

Annapolis harbor, 350,000 

Baltimore harbor, 1, 517^000 

Mouth or Elk river, 300,000 

Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, 300,000 



$14,390,527 



SOUTHERN SECTION OP THE ATLANTIC 

Mouths of Cape Fear river, 

Georsetown harbor, 

Saniee river and UuH's bay 

Charleston, S C. 

Stono, North Edi^to utA South Edislo, 

St. Helena sound, 

Broad river or Port Royal roans, 

Savannah and mouth of Savannah river, 

St. Augustine, 

Key We,si and Tortugas 

Charlotte harbor, Espiritu Santa bay, 

Appalachicola, Apalache bay, St. 

Joseph's bay, and St. Ro.sa's bay, 



COAIT 

258,000 

250.000 

100,000 

8011.000 

5(1,000 

150 000 

SO!) 000 

, 1,800 OOO 

50.(00 

3,000,000 



l.OOO/iOO 



GOLF CF MEXICO FRONTIER 

Pensacola bay, 
Perdidcbay, 
Mobile bay, 

New Orleans and the Delta of the Mij 
.•iissippi, 



S7,758,000 

610,Ci0O 
200,000 
905.000 

517,000 

§2,232,000 



WESTERN FRONTIER. 

Forts Je.'^ssp, Tow;on, Gibson, Smith, 
Leavenworth, and the new works to 
be erected at Spring river, Marais 
desCygne, &c. $850,000 

RECAPITULATION. 

The Northeastern section, 6,1 18 000 

" Middle; " 14.390,527 

" Southern " 7,758,000 

" Gulf of Mexico Frontier 2,232,000 

$30.49S 527 

Add — Western Frontier, 850 000 

Lake Frontier, about, 2 000,000 

It may be, on a strict reviewof the list, tha' many 
of the places named might be dropped as not re- 
quiring defensive worts; but no one can doubt the 
abjolute recessity of ample fortifications for the 
larae commercial cities and be>t harbo-'s, under 
Ihe protection of which your ships can ride se- 
curely when overpowered by superior nurabeis at 
sea. 

But abovs all, we must look to the Navy as the 
right aim of the national defence. The reputat'oa 
it acquired for the country more than couni/.--- 
balanced the expenses of the last contest with 
Great Britain. Standing a« we do, the second 
commercial nation in ihe world, and soon to be 
the first, our navy should iacrease pari passu with 



16 



the increase of commerce, and in proportion to 
the increase of the power of other nation to injure 
that commerce and to harass the Atlantic border. 
The remarks of the Secretary at War in a report 
to Congress, iji 1836, on this branch of the defences 
of the country, are so apposite that he must beg to 
he excused for reading then to the Senate. 

"But it is upon maritime fiontiev that we are most exposed. 
Our coast for three thousand miles is washed by the Ocean, 
•which separate us from those nations who have made llie high- 
est advances in all the arts, and particularly those which mi- 
nister to the operations of war, and with whom, from our inter- 
course and political relations, we are most liable to be drawn 
into collision. If this great medium of communication, the 
element at the same time of separation and union, interposes 
peculiar obstacles to the progress of the hosiile demonstrations, 
it also olfers advantages which are not less obvious, and wh^ch, 
to be successfully resisied, require conesponding ar- 
rangements and exertions. These advantages depend 
on the economy and facility of transportation, on 
the celerity of movements, and on the power of an enemy to 
threaten the whole shore, spread out before him, and to select 
his point of attack at pleasure. A powerful hostile fleet upon 
the coast of the United States presents some of the features of 
wa-- v.hero a heavy mass is r)\oufrhi to act a^iiinstdetachments, 
•which may be cut up in dolail, although their combined forces 
•would exceed the assailing foe. Our points of exposure are so 
numerous and distant, that it would be impracticable to keep, 
at each of them, a force competent to resist the attack of an 
enemy, prepared by his naval ascendency, and his other ar- 
rangements, to make a sudden and vigorous inroad upon our 
shores. It becomes us, therefore, to inquire how the conse- 
quences of this state of things are to be best met and averted. 

"The first and most obvious, and in every point of view the 
most proper method ol defence, is an augmentation of our na- 
val force to an extent proportioned to the resources and neces- 
Bities of the nation. I do not mean the actual construction and 
equipment of vessels only. The number of those in service 
must depend on the state of the country at a given period. But 
I mean the collection of all such mateiials as may be preserved 
without injury, and a due encouragement of those branches of 
interest to the growth of a navy, and which may be properly 
nurtured by the Governmenl; so that on the approach of dan- 
ger a fleet may put to sea, without delay, sufficiently powerful 
10 meet any force which will probably besent to our coast. 

•'Our great battle upon the ocean is yet to be 
FOUGHT, and we shall gain nothing by shutting our eyes to the 
nature of the struggle, or to the exertions we shall find it neces- 
sary to make. All our institutions are es entially pacific, and 
every citizen feels that his share of the common interest is ef- 
fecte"d by the derangement of business— by the enormous ex- 
pense—and by tlie uncertain results of war. This feeling 
jiresses upon the community and the Government, and is a 
sure "uai-antee that we shall never he precipitated into a con- 
test, nor embarked in on>>, unless imperiously required by those 
considerations which leave no alternative between resistance 
and dishonor. Accordingly, our history shows that are more 
disposed to bear, while evils are to be borne, than to redress by 
appeals to arms. Still, however, a contest must come, and it 
lehooves us, while we have the means and opportunity, to look 
forward to its attendant circumstances, and to prepare for the 
consequences. 

"Thera is as little need of inquiry now into our'moral as into 
cur liiysical capacity to maintain a navy, and to meet upon 
e lual terms the ships and seamen of other nations. Our ex- 
tended commerce, 'creating and created by those resources 
\Thich are essential to the building and equipment of fleets, re- 
moves all doubt upon one point, and the history of our naval 
enterprise from the moment when the colors were hoisted upon 
the hastily prepared vessehi at the commencement of otr Re- 
Tolutionary struggle, to the last contest in which any of our 
CHT ships were engazed, is equally satisl'actory upon the other. 
The achievements of our navy have stamped its chaiacter 
with the country and the world. The simple recital of its ex- 
exploits is the highest eulogium which can be pronounced 
upon i'." 

Ej.'ice the date of this communication, the dis- 
puted problem of crossing ihe Atlantic ccean by 
steam has been solved; and a-^ time is distance, we 
are now near neighbors to Europe. This must pro- 
duce a decided change in our relations to that ccn- 



tinent, and will demand new and extraordinary ex- 
penditures to place our defences, particularly the 
naval, upon a formidable footing. The entire 
strength of the navy at this time is sixty-seven ships 
of war, of all classes, including four steamers; while 
that of Great Briiain, of all grades of sailing ves- 
sels, was upwardsof four hundred, wiih about three 
hundred steamships of war, including packets, 
which are built for warlike purposes, commanded 
by regular officers of the royal navy, which now 
vapor through every sea, and penetrate even to the 
very interior of Africa, by the River Niger, to open 
a new world for commercial enterprise to operate 
in. The expenditure of this Government for years 
to come, mast be great on this branch of the ser- 
vice, to make it equal to ih3 objects contemplated 
in its creation, and to keep pace with the new dis- 
coveries made in the art of destruction by Eurapeae .. 
powers. 

Then, sir, if gentlemen are determined to take 
this great fund, won by the treasure and blood of 
our fathers, out of the Treasury of the nation, what 
better disposition can possibly be made of it than 
its application to the army, navy, and fortifications 
of the whole Union? Will gentlemen frankly an- 
swer this question? There was something truly 
appalling to see so many measures of the deepest 
import concentrated, and to be forced through these 
halls in the short space of an extra session of Con- 
gress — AN EX FO'^T FACTO LAW, interfering between 
man and man, and sponging out the debts contracted 
in many years past — a bill to repeal the Independent 
Treasury; that law which efleclually guarded your 
money, punished de.f^alcations, and separated the 
purse and the sword — a bill creating a national 
debt — a bill to collect taxes with one hand and 
give away money with another — a bill creating a 
National, or Fiscal Bank, to regulate by a few 
favorite individuals working in secret, the value 
of every man's labor and every man's property 
wiihin the bounds of this wide-spread Republic. 

But above all, it created a profound melancholy 
feeling in him, to see abandoned forever, perhaps, 
YOUR GREAT NATIONAL DOMAIN, Stretching away, 
over mountains, and pliins, and rivers, and lakes, 
from cape Florida to the mouth of the Oregon — 
from the sources of the Missouri and Mississippi to 
the Gulf of Mexico — from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific oceans. By this bill a fund will be squandered 
upon British and other foreign bond holders, or 
for uncertain projects at home; an annual income 
which weuld enable this Government to borrow 
and pay the interest on one hundred millions of 
dollars in time of war, or fr other great national 
purposes. Reject his amendment and pass this 
bill, and the public domain is gone forever, un- 
lefs the people come to the rescue within two years. 
Pass if, and every struggle for liberal or just pre- 
emption and graduation laws will be vain and 
futile. Pass it, !.nd the claims to lands owned by 
private individuals under treaties with France and 
Spain will be silenced— a contest will commence 
about the augmentation of the price of land be- 
tween the old States and the new, and between the 
the tariff and anti-tariff portions of the Confede- 
racy. 



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